Brazil Nut Date And Fresh Ginger Tart Food

APPLE-DATE FRITTERS WITH LEMON CURD CREAM AND CANDIED GINGER

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and sugar; set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg and milk on low speed. Stir in the dry ingredients.
• Peel, core and chop apples. Toss the apples and dates with lemon juice and fold into the batter.
• Heat oil to 365 degrees F in an electric skillet (oil should be 1/4-inch deep).
• Drop batter by heaping spoonfuls into skillet, patting each fritter down a bit (2 1/2 to 3 inches or so in diameter). Fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towels (keep fritters warm) and repeat until all batter has been used.
• To make Lemon Curd Cream, whisk together the cream, lemon curd and sugar until slightly thick.
• To serve, arrange fritters on a heated platter, drizzle with lemon curd ream, and sprinkle with candied ginger.

BRAZIL NUT, DATE, AND FRESH GINGER TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, butter, cream or milk, flour, ginger, and salt until smooth. Stir in the date pieces and Brazil nuts until combined.
• Set the prebaked tart shell on a baking sheet and pour in the filling. Bake the tart on the baking sheet until the top is uniformly deep brown and the filling is set (it shouldn't jiggle when you gently shake the tart), 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Remove the tart pan sides by setting the tart on an overturned bowl or other tall, wide surface (a large can of tomatoes works well). Gently press down on the outer ring and let the ring fall to the countertop. Set the tart on a flat surface. Release the tart from the pan bottom by sliding the blade of a knife between the crust and the pan bottom, then slip the tart onto a serving plate. (If it doesn't release cleanly, simply serve the tart on the pan bottom.)
• Serving
• Serve with whipped cream (page 239) or a drizzle of Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce (page 243) spiked with rum.
• Storage
• The filling can be made up to 4 days in advance and refrigerated.
• Variation
• To add coconut flavor to this tart, substitute 1 1/2 cups (340 g) softened or grated palm sugar (available in Asian markets) for the brown sugar and replace the cream or whole milk with Thai coconut milk.

PEAR TARTE TATIN WITH VANILLA AND GINGER

Steps:

• Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 10-inch square. Trim edges, making 10-inch-diameter round; pierce round all over with fork. Slide onto rimless baking sheet. Cover and chill pastry while preparing pears or up to 1 day.
• Fill large skillet with ice and water; set aside. Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy 10-inch-diameter nonstick ovenproof skillet over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is dark amber color, occasionally swirling and brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, then vanilla-bean seeds and ginger (caramel will bubble up). Arrange pears, cut side down and overlapping, in circle in skillet, placing a few around edge, if necessary. Place skillet over medium heat. Cook until pears are tender and syrup thickens enough to coat spoon, about 23 minutes. Place hot skillet atop ice in large skillet to cool pear mixture quickly. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place puff pastry round atop pear mixture in skillet; tuck in edges around pears. Bake tart until pastry is puffed and golden, about 35 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Rewarm tart in oven 8 minutes. Place platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts, hold skillet and platter together and turn over, releasing tart. Serve tart with whipped cream.

GINGER MANGO CREAM TART

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: Add the gingersnaps to a food processor, roughly breaking them as you go, then pulse them into fine crumbs. (You should have about 2 1/4 cups). Add the melted butter, light brown sugar and salt to combine. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan, then press it evenly into the base and halfway up the sides of the pan. Freeze while you make the filling.
• Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the mango, sugar, ginger, turmeric and salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mango is very soft and starts to break down, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
• Place 3 tablespoons cool water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let bloom for 5 minutes. Microwave until fluid, 15 to 30 seconds. (Alternatively, the bowl of gelatin can be placed over a small pot of simmering water until melted.)
• Wipe out the bowl of the food processor, add the mango mixture and pulse until mostly smooth. Add the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar and pulse until combined and smooth. Scrape the bowl well, then pulse again to combine. Add the cream and process for 1 minute. Finally, add the melted gelatin and pulse briefly to combine.
• Transfer the mixture to the chilled crust and gently spread into an even layer. Wrap the pan in plastic wrap, transfer to the refrigerator, and chill for 12 hours (or up to 24 hours).
• Gently run a small offset spatula or thin knife around the outer edge of the cake to loosen the crust, then release the outer ring. Run a large thin knife between the springform base and the bottom of the cake and use a large spatula to gently transfer the cake to a serving platter. (Alternatively, you can keep the cake on the base and transfer them together to a serving platter.)
• If using any of the garnishes, sprinkle them around the outside edge just before slicing and serving.

LEMON-GINGER TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Drizzle in melted butter and, using a spatula, mix until it's well combined (it'll have a sort of Play-Doh texture). Press this into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan (or you can use a 9-inch springform pan, going about an inch up the sides), using a measuring cup to flatten and make sure it's all even.
• Bake the tart shell until it's a pale golden brown on the edges and baked through on the bottom (it will lose that greasy shine), 15 to 20 minutes.
• Make the filling and assemble: In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, egg, flour, ginger, turmeric and salt. Make sure no lumps remain, but be careful not to overmix. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to make sure no bits of flour or egg are left behind. Add lemon slices, if using, and stir to coat. Set the lemon slices aside.
• Transfer filling to the crust (depending on the depth of your pan, you may have a few tablespoons left over). Lay reserved lemon slices across the top. Bake until the edges are set and the center no longer jiggles, but does not look dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

MIRABELLE GINGER TART

Steps:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Add butter, cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water; blend just until moist clumps form. Knead dough gently until smooth. Cover; chill 20 minutes.
• Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Fit into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim edges. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line dough with foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust sets, about 15 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake crust until pale golden, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer to rack and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
• Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy large skillet. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in nuts. Cool slightly. Add yolks and stir.
• Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling looks dry and crusty and center is softly set, about 30 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 325°F. Continue baking until center is set, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer to rack; cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.) Serve with whipped cream.